KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Prototype Thread

[TheGreatOne]

They have Tim Stellmach: https://twitter.com/TimStellmach/status/483969007863619584

"Old legendary designers" are just jaded, sad, dull, and tired. They have lost all their sacred fire and just want to make games to play on mobiles to make themselves feel like because they play it they're still hardcore gamers.

http://www.giantbomb.com/tim-stellmach/3040-3745/

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I can't believe the original UW creator would acquire rights and undertake the next official UW game

He did? Could you share that link?

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ne...t-to-mess-with-original-formula/1100-6420836/

The studio has secured the rights to make new games in the beloved Underworld RPG series, and today revealed Underworld Ascension.

Also, use of the font and likely trademarked title implies that they have rights, by license or ownership.

 

[Infinitron]

I can't believe the original UW creator would acquire rights and undertake the next official UW game

He did? Could you share that link?

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ne...t-to-mess-with-original-formula/1100-6420836/

The studio has secured the rights to make new games in the beloved Underworld RPG series, and today revealed Underworld Ascension.

Also, use of the font and likely trademarked title implies that they have rights, by license or ownership.

Well, they have these "rights": http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...th-of-looking-glass.92639/page-2#post-3361921

I'm not aware of there being any other rights required to create a game titled "Underworld". That was never an IP in its own right, it was just something they added to the word "Ultima".

 

[Spectacle]

I hope they don't fuck this up. If they make an underground skyrim it's okay I guess, I'd play it. But this has the potential to be so much more.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

"Old legendary designers" are just jaded, sad, dull, and tired.

Your pathetic whining is jaded, sad, dull, and tired.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I can't believe the original UW creator would acquire rights and undertake the next official UW game

He did? Could you share that link?

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ne...t-to-mess-with-original-formula/1100-6420836/

The studio has secured the rights to make new games in the beloved Underworld RPG series, and today revealed Underworld Ascension.

Also, use of the font and likely trademarked title implies that they have rights, by license or ownership.

Well, they have these "rights": http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...th-of-looking-glass.92639/page-2#post-3361921

I'm not aware of there being any other rights required to create a game titled "Underworld". That was never an IP in its own right, it was just something they added to the word "Ultima".

It would be good to get some clarity on that. It may simply be a confirmation that owners of the Ultima franchise won't come after them... is that still EA? God did they ever fuck that up.

 

[Infinitron]

UU1 LP with Paul Neurath commentary.

 

[TheGreatOne]

Makes me want to replay UW when I watch that, such great athmosphere even when you're just watching the video in full screen mode

 

[Jaesun]

The most legendary PC role playing game.

I bet that guys first RPG was KotOR.

 

[Excidium]

The most legendary PC role playing game.

I bet that guys first RPG was KotOR.

If there's something worthy of that title it's UW

 

[Jaesun]

The most legendary PC role playing game.

I bet that guys first RPG was KotOR.

If there's something worthy of that title it's UW

I agree somewhat (from a cRPG mechanics standpoint). I still have never finished the game yet sadly....

 

[Multidirectional]

The most legendary PC role playing game.

He said one of the most legendary.

 

[buzz]

I have to agree with HHR in here, people should treat this kind of announcements with care. Pretty much most of the "old-school" and "veteran" designers left and right failed to deliver something mindblowing in one way or another, except David Braben I guess and the guys who did the Tex game. The people who really delivered were the relatively new and starving ones like the guy behind STASIS, the people behind Quest for Infamy, Larian (technically they're not new but I'm sure no one would've predicted 3 years ago that they'd be the guys to make a great cRPG) and so on.
I'm just saying, you people need to fap cautiously. If old-school devs have managed to fuck up the relatively simple formulas of adventure games and god games, then there's a big chance that one such dev could fuck up an immersive RPG-thing like UU, which I'd argue is one of the hardest types of video games you can make.

 

[Sonus]

Yep. It comes down to "I want to believe." And until the decline hits the fan, the fan will spam the incline. (wut)

 

[LESS T_T]

http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/8682/

Last week we got the chance to sit down with Paul Neurath, long time game designer who had worked on such titles as Ultima: Underworld, Thief, and System Shock. Paul is now part of Otherside Entertainment which is a new studio looking to bring new life into classic RPGs that we grew up with. The studio is beginning their first project with Underworld Ascension which will bring players back to the classic Underworld franchise. The team obviously cannot use the Ultima name, but you get the hint. With the return to so many RPG styles in PC gaming, a return to Underworld looks very interesting.

Paul explained that the team founded the company and was given the chance to bring the Underworld IP almost twenty years later his team jumped at the chance. Underworld had set the stage for some serious games like Deus Ex and Bioshock. It is heralded as a classic now and deserves a solid reboot for RPG fans. The team had released two Underworlds and had plans for a third which never came to light. Paul said that the basis for this third title is what the team will be using as blueprints for the new RPG.

The challenge for the team now is adapting the theories they had for the game back in the mid 90s to all of the updated software and game design mechanics of today. Paul was thrilled by all of the leaps in game design over the past two decades and now has the chance to work within that new environment. Underworld was one of the first games to feature the first person 3D environment for players. Paul said that the team is only a few weeks in, but wants the chance to bring the franchise up to date in the current game environment. He also is taking the time to do justice to a beloved older game.

In the 1990s RPGs had a much tighter design. They mirrored pen and paper RPGs of that era. They were simpler and did not have elements like online play. They tried to take Underworld and expand ideas like experience points into a computer game. To make players think through rooms in a dungeon and solve puzzles. If you did not know how to complete a puzzle to unlock a door, that was it, there was no way to open it. Now, with the Internet guides abound, you can solve almost any puzzle in seconds. Paul wants to still give players a sense of mystery. He broke it down into three core elements. How does a player survive? How do they solve problems? What kind of tactical situations can players get into? These are just some of the questions the team asks on a daily basis. Paul has said, that games have become much more forgiving now than they were back in the day. So they have to adjust for that as well.

We know it is early days but we are looking forward to what the team at Otherside Entertainment has to offer. Underworld is a legendary franchise that deserves a reboot. With so many games like Divinity and Pillars of Eternity making their way back into players hands, having a new Underworld will just add to a solid list of upcoming RPGs.

...

 

[Infinitron]

Can't they just post a transcript of the interview instead of a poorly written summary?

Maybe we need to interview him ourselves. I'd prefer to learn more about the game first, though.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Too early to answer the hard questions anyway.

 

[Jaesun]

The challenge for the team now is adapting the theories they had for the game back in the mid 90s to all of the updated software and game design mechanics of today.

Lost all interest in this....

 

[Decado]

I'm not trying to be edgy here. I'm really not. But I cannot summon a single shit for anything re: Ultima. I just can't. It is not even that I think they are bad games. They just seem so uninspired to me. And this announcement is no exception. I just don't care.

Also, having never played the game, can anyone explain this:

Underworld had set the stage for some serious games like Deus Ex and Bioshock.

Really? Really? Someone really has to explain that.

 

[tuluse]

I'm not trying to be edgy here. I'm really not. But I cannot summon a single shit for anything re: Ultima. I just can't. It is not even that I think they are bad games. They just seem so uninspired to me. And this announcement is no exception. I just don't care.

Also, having never played the game, can anyone explain this:

Underworld had set the stage for some serious games like Deus Ex and Bioshock.

Really? Really? Someone really has to explain that.

Just googling UU and looking at approximately 3 screenshots should provide the information you need.

 

[Decado]

I'm not trying to be edgy here. I'm really not. But I cannot summon a single shit for anything re: Ultima. I just can't. It is not even that I think they are bad games. They just seem so uninspired to me. And this announcement is no exception. I just don't care.

Also, having never played the game, can anyone explain this:

Underworld had set the stage for some serious games like Deus Ex and Bioshock.

Really? Really? Someone really has to explain that.

Just googling UU and looking at approximately 3 screenshots should provide the information you need.

I've done that. How does the game set the stage for Deus Ex? Is the multiple approaches to problems idea? The free form movement? I just don't get that. I've never played it, so there is probably something I am missing.

 

[Cazzeris]

Underworld had set the stage for some serious games like Deus Ex and Bioshock.

Really? Really? Someone really has to explain that.

System Shock is the missing link.

 

[mindx2]

I've done that. How does the game set the stage for Deus Ex? Is the multiple approaches to problems idea? The free form movement? I just don't get that. I've never played it, so there is probably something I am missing.

You need to rectify that immediately. UU 1/2 are some of the greatest games I've ever played and return to often.

 

[Infinitron]

Ultima Underworld isn't Ultima, Decado

Different developer, different genre, different "feel", and even lore-wise the first UU game is only loosely related to the main Ultima series.

 

[Crooked Bee]

It's just my personal quirk of course, but I don't like it that their references for the new Underworld game are Deus Ex and Bioshock, as well as their skepticism towards the RPG side of things. I'd rather the new game was a proper dungeon crawler RPG with additional innovations/bells and whistles like NPC interaction etc., like the UU games were. A new, well-designed "simulationist" free movement dungeon crawler would be an interesting thing to have. We'll see, I guess.

Also I cringe everytime I see the "Now, with the Internet guides abound, you can solve almost any puzzle in seconds" "argument".